The present invention relates generally to methods and apparatuses for electronic devices having keys for entering data, and more particularly to methods and apparatuses for mobile wireless devices having keypads.
Wireless telephones have allowed many busy people the freedom to communicate while traveling. For many people, traveling even on a brief errand without a wireless telephone is all but unthinkable.
Unfortunately, wireless telephones can be bulky. Bulky wireless telephones, unfortunately, are currently a fact of life for many people. Although the size of the electronic circuits within a wireless telephone may diminish as manufacturing processes evolve, the fundamental nature of wireless telephones requires substantial electronic equipment.
Not only are wireless telephones bulky, but they are also prone to failure. A typical wireless telephone has several moving parts, including springs and other mechanisms in the buttons of the keypad. When a user presses a key button, the button slides downwards and engages an electrical contact, similar to a relay. The spring then restores the button to be pressed again. The failure of even a single spring within a keypad can render the telephone substantially useless to the owner, who then must take the telephone in for repair.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a wireless telephone having a thin profile and without a large number of moving parts.